ArticleEating behaviors2021
Mental health of individuals with and without eating disorders across six months and two waves of COVID-19.
Article in Eating behaviors, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- The collateral effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: A gender-specific systematic review of disordered eating behaviour in the general population.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2025Pooled it
- The impacts of COVID-19 on eating disorders and disordered eating: A mixed studies systematic review and implications.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Lived experience perspectives of receiving peer support in eating disorders.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating disorder symptoms and COVID-19-related stress.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on comorbid depression, anxiety and eating disorders in adolescent psychiatric inpatients: a network analysis.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Article
- The impact of strict lockdowns on the mental health and well-being of people living in Australia during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.BJPsych open · 2023Article
- Eating Disorders and Metabolic Diseases.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- Mental health and health behaviours among patients with eating disorders: a case-control study in France.Journal of eating disorders · 2022Article
- Eating Disorders in Hospitalized School-Aged Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study of Discharge Records in Developmental Ages in Italy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Psychological-health correlates of physical activity and sedentary behaviour during the COVID pandemic.Mental health and physical activity · 2022Article
- Changes in patterns of eating habits and food intake during the first German COVID-19 lockdown: results of a cross-sectional online survey.European journal of nutrition · 2022Article
- An 8-month longitudinal exploration of body image and disordered eating in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.Eating behaviors · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe COVID-19 global pandemic has resulted in a significant mental health toll, and recent findings suggest that individuals with an eating disorder (ED) history may be particularly vulnerable. The current study aimed to: (1) identify changes in the pattern of mental health symptoms over the first six months of the pandemic between individuals with an ED history, compared to a community sample without an ED history (non-ED); and (2) identify differences in mental health symptoms and concerns between two waves of the virus and associated lockdowns.
methodData from 4915 respondents - 231 with an ED history - were compared across monthly time points from April to September 2020 on psychological symptoms including negative mood, quality of life, coping and hopefulness, as well as changes to eating and exercise behaviours.
resultsMental health symptoms were increased in the ED group, but generally did not differ from non-ED in the pattern of symptoms reported over time. Increased depressive symptoms and restrictive eating behaviours were found across both groups in relation to the second wave/lockdown, as well as decreased hopefulness and quality of life. Respondents in both groups also reported coping worse during the second wave of the virus compared to the first wave.
conclusionAlthough non-ED and ED groups tended to generally show the same pattern of symptoms, the mental health status of the ED group was significantly poorer than the non-ED group throughout the pandemic, and exacerbations in some symptoms (i.e. increased food restriction and depressive symptoms) is cause for concern.
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